On Monday, China Aid reported that a house church leader and his wife were buried alive when they tried to keep authorities from destroying their church in Zhumadian, Henan province.

China Aid reported:

On April 14, a government-backed company dispatched personnel to bulldoze Beitou Church in Zhumadian, Henan province, after a local developer wished to take control of the church’s valuable property. Li Jiangong, the person in charge of the church, and his wife, Ding Cuimei, stepped in front of the machinery in an attempt to stop the demolition.

“Bury them alive for me,” a member of the demolition team said. “I will be responsible for their lives.”

Subsequently, a bulldozer shoved Li and Ding into a pit and covered their bodies with soil. Crying for help, Li was able to dig his way free, but Ding suffocated before she could be rescued.

Local authorities say that two perpetrators are currently detained, but the officer China Aid spoke to would not disclose the charges against them.

“Bulldozing and burying alive Ding Cuimei, a peaceful and devout Christian woman, was a cruel, murderous act,” said China Aid president Bob Fu. “This case is a serious violation of the rights to life, religious freedom and rule of law. The Chinese authorities should immediately hold those murderers accountable and take concrete measures to protect the religious freedom of this house church’s members.”

Sadly, this is what one can expect under Communist rule, where Christians are often targeted by authorities.

Christians in China have been heavily targeted throughout the past couple of years by the ruling Communist Party due to their rapidly increasing numbers. Although Chinese officials claims that church demolitions and the forced removal of church rooftop crosses are connected with building code violations, human rights activists and other Christian leaders have said it is clear persecution against a religious group.